Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-04-01
PICKING OUT THE MEAT.

linking OF II.
PICKING OUT THE MEAT.
But how do YOU read 50 rapidly"
Il acquire the subject matter said Mr..
Spotford Il pick out the meat-the pith.
pay no attention TO the verbiage. l scarcely
see the words and never note the form of sen-
tences. | have learned, by long practice and
having a natural tendency for it. TO get the
information without the rhetoric. In this
way the thought is got at glance. IL is not
the words you want. When Your time is all
too short for yOur work You can't afford to
waste it on words. In reading there is 81
much that is nf no use 10 you-a worthless lot.
Of verhiage. BY practice You can avoid all
this Nearly all hooks or papers are taken up
mostly with rhetoric, and have the fact and
substance stored away in a very small space,
If YOU only know how TO find it. / seldom
spend more than half an hour and never
more than an hour and half in reading-or
reconnaissance Of the largest volume For in
stance, | take this" and he took a volume
from the shelf. No looking at the title,
this is hardly the proper book to illustrate il
with. This is Carlyle; he has to be read:
every word. He is one of the few authors
who cannot be read as have described. You
must read every word, and well il paws you
for the time. But it is only such rugged
and extraordinary writer that IT IS necessary
10 read that way All those thousands OF
books with smooth, easy running sentences,
they are all alike, and You don't want TO
waste time on the language-you want to
seize on to the soul and devour il iii an instant.
Like this. now, and he reached another book
Vho' 'afiSieD' ana Went down the pages one
aiter ahother, as an expert accountant would
60 down a co!uinn OF nsures Nothing there
"ah'' hoi 'nere' nor 'hefe- linen ocCasion-
any s.rlhlhs something 10 the point and get
tihs Tue 'h"usht In an instant lie went over
Prooap'N ihteeii UT twenty pages IN this way
vi fehS'h VI 'ihfe hhruIN worth reckoning,
ana without even making break IN the COLI
'es'ih
, "iS p''pH' MI "ionoi" went on
"''' wv '"'' "a''iS .a"i. Vi piohounciiiS
every "o, III inca ni'i'i anu ho'iCihS every
l"" "4'' pun 'u'.'o'i 'e 'heS go aI"iS a. II
'o'Di"s aI"ur' An tii'>'e "Orns ana sen
WIN '"' ''i','S'i'Hh''oii am Fuictuh-
t.oh-'ie ''ii'ias' 'he 'pioiis' 'he seiiiicuions.
tH' Pi anu POI afuS' ohS the Signs
!" u" 'oi.,"eu' "''. "'' W pe fecorued IN tho
ii'iiiH' many 'e'''iS' i'i inaln h'~t reahers.
chu'h tHcii hcios w, WIN commas anu coiolfs
iiis'e"d Vi ''iouE"'~
ARRANGEMENT OF THE BOOKS
1T Is said, suggested the reporter, that
you know every book in the libraryfr
.ln general way. | know where TO find
every book, its size and general appearance.
and its subject matter. | could not tell You
the contents OF the books, hut merely what
they are about. There are some 60OOO0
volumes arranged in forty-four subdivisions.
which are again suhiividei. have the
library arranged according 10 what | con
ceived 10 IL the common sense plan. The
books are arranged alphabetically by subject,
the fiction only 10y authors, You are now in
the alc"ve containing biographies of English
men The alcoYes are arranged alphahetic-
ally by subjects, and the books within ar
ranged in their alphabetical order. For in
stance, take Cromwell; all the biographies Of
Cromwell are together, and next is another
&c progressively. Suppose some one wants
certain work or finance. j know it is in
that alc"ve up there. | know what book Il is
by association, and just where ii Is But
that alc"ve iN overt'owed, and the books are
all piled up on the floor and along there in
front. Suppose they ask for book of com
paratively recent date. know it is not on
In" shelves. i"''atiSe they were filed long be-
fore it> publication. so it must be IN that
pile somewhere. know the size Of the book,
and its appearance; can recognize il, for it
passed through my hands TO get into the
library. For the past twenty years every
book that has come into the library has gone
through NV hands and renambarit In
general way l Know us size and appearance,
ana a'"'ut "na' Is I'll IL. ANY one OF them